Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. (Luke 4:14-24)
Our readings this week, taken from all four gospels, are summaries of the mission of Jesus pointed out to us in the responsorial psalm.
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Our reading today from Luke’s gospel is one of the strongest accounts of the rejection of Jesus by his own people at Nazareth, but instead of ending with them attempting to throw him to his death from the hill today’s reading ends:
And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. (Luke 4:14-24)
Even his own people will recapture their amazement at the words that come from the mouth of Jesus! He will enter Nazareth again and people will welcome him.
The mystery of the Epiphany and Baptism are not limited to past history, they predict God’s plan yet to come.
Noah’s ark, the Magi, the Slaughter of the Innocents. “They’re just myths,” you hear it said. I don’t like those stories dismissed that way, because it easily leads to a further dismissal: ”Is any of it true? Probably not.”
We think straight reporting is the only thing true. “Just the facts, Mam.” Everything else is fake news. But are these stories fake?
“The Secrets of Noah’s Ark” a recent Nova program on PBS examining the biblical story makes good sense to me. In early times, floods were common in the “Fertile Crescent” the area in Mesopotamia {modern Iraq} where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and the ancient city of Babylon were located. So you had to keep boats handy– you never know.
You had to be ready for a great flood too, but people have short memories and people then, as now, tend to forget “the big ones.” “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.” (Matthew 24, 37-38)
I suspect some Babylonian priests– meteorologists and story tellers of their time– came up with a flood story thousands of years before the Noah story to keep the people of their day on their toes – and maybe challenge some early climate change deniers too. It reinforced important advice: “ Keep your boats in good shape and make sure there’s also a big boat around for ‘the big one.’”
Exile of Jews to Babylon
In 587 BC, thousands of Jews were driven from Jerusalem, destroyed by Babylonian armies, and were forced to make the thousand mile journey in Babylon. It was their Exile. When they heard the story of the great flood they saw it as a symbol of their own tragic circumstances. “By the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept, remembering Zion.” (Psalm137)
Returning from exile, the Jews incorporated their version of the flood story into the Torah. It became a reminder to keep the covenant God made with them and beware of living unfaithfully as “in the days of Noah.”
Does real history underlie the story of the Magi and the Slaughter of the Innocents? Begin with Herod the Great, ruler of Palestine then, whom secular sources and many archeological monuments from the time describe quite well. Herod was a micro-manager who built fortified palaces in Jerusalem, the Herodium outside Bethlehem and other places to keep watch over his kingdom.
Citadel, Herod’s Palace Fortress, Jerusalem
Herodium, Mountain Fortress of Herod the Great
He promoted trade with the outside world; he built the seaport of Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean Sea and cultivated the trade routes from Yemen and other eastern parts that led all the way to Rome. He would have kept tabs on those arriving with spices and luxury goods of all kinds. He knew who came and went.
Were the Magi wealthy eastern traders, quite knowledgeable about the religious world of the people with whom they traded? Did they hear of the Child in Bethlehem? Herod’s advisors and everyone else knew Bethlehem was associated with the legendary King David and there were prophecies about an heir to his throne coming from there. Did the foreigners visit the Child, bring their gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh, the prizes of their trade, and then quickly leave, well aware of Herod’s paranoia, quick temper and brutality.
Given Herod’s jealous hold on power, the story of the slaughter of the Innocents in Matthew’s Gospel doesn’t seem unlikely, True, it’s not mentioned in any secular source, but neither are many other tragic stories of the time. Bethlehem, after all, was a small town, off the beaten track. The death of perhaps 20 or so infants might go unnoticed and be quickly forgotten.
Matthew’s story is hardly a myth. Rather, it sees things through God’s eyes. The star points to the real power guiding human history; the magi represent the rest of the world coming to adore the Child. Angelic powers are always at our side. The slaughtered infants are like so many tragic deaths that seem to question God’s promise of life, but God doesn’t forget, the story says, even if human history doesn’t remember. “The souls of the just are in the hands of God and no torment shall touch them.”
If you ever visit Bethlehem, go to see the Herodium, Herod’s massive fortified palace looking down on the nearby town. Joseph wouldn’t need much urging to take the Child and his mother from this place,would he? Go to the Citadel in Jerusalem built on the highest spot in the city. You can walk where Herod once walked and imagine him looking down on his kingdom. But it was not his kingdom, after all, it was God’s. Go to Caesaria Martima, the splendid port city created by Herod. Did the Magi’s caravans reach here?
Then ask yourself if the stories of Jesus’ birth and infancy are myths.
There’s always a temptation to make God distant and abstract. After all, God dwells “in light inaccessible,” the scriptures say. God is beyond the eyes of our mind and body.But God reveals himself in Jesus Christ, the “image of the invisible God.” The first followers of Jesus saw him with their own eyes and proclaimed that “the grace and kindness of our God has appeared” in him.
The First Letter of John, written as that first generation of eyewitnesses to the gospel was passing on, tells a new generation (certainly us too) to believe in Jesus Christ. As eyewitnesses pass on and years go by, we’re tempted to forget or minimize his place in our world and in our lives.
John’s letter warns about the dangers of docetism and gnosticism, two heresies supporting that temptation. A note in the New American Bible describes what these strange sounding heresies are all about:
“The specific heresy described in this letter cannot be identified exactly, but it is a form of docetism or gnosticism; the former doctrine denied the humanity of Christ to insure that his divinity was untainted, and the latter viewed the appearance of Christ as a mere stepping-stone to higher knowledge of God.”
He came “through water and Blood,” John writes. He urges us not to forget the humanity of Jesus Christ, the humble way he became flesh and shared our experience. God comes to us that way too. He was baptized in the waters of the Jordan uniting all nations journeying to God’s Kingdom. He died and shed his blood for us. Don’t forget the mystery of his death and resurrection.
“God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
Love for one another is an essential part of loving God:
Beloved, we love God because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Today, as we remember the mysterious visitors from afar who came seeking the new-born King of the Jews, I remember wandering years ago through the catacombs of Rome where early Roman Christians buried their dead. On the burial places of their loved ones they scratched the name of the deceased, little symbols and prayers, sometimes a picture from the bible.
In the catacombs of Priscilla is a 3rd century grave belongs to a Roman woman named Severa. Her simple profile appears with an inscription that reads, “Severa, may you live with God.” Severa points to the figures of the three Magi coming with their gifts to the little Child sitting on Mary’s lap. Over the Child is a star and the figure of a man, probably Balaam, the prophet who predicted a star would announce a new king in Judea. (Numbers 24,15-19)
What did this mean to Severa, you wonder? She lived in Rome, so many miles from where the Child was born, yet she believed in promise he made to those strangers who once brought him gifts. His gift to Severa was greater than gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Child promised her eternal life. She would live with God.
The theme of the three kings is common in early Christian art.
Severa’s faith, contained in the Apostles’ Creed, is the same as ours today. God made this world and guides it to its destiny. Jesus Christ is God’s Son, born of Mary, he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. On the third day he rose from the dead.
Severa believed in his promise: the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. She knew, too, the story of Herod, the powerful king, who threatened the life of the new born Child. Powerful emperors ruling then were like the ruthless king, but Severa knew the Child was more powerful than them all. He would bring her to another world, God’s world.
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah,” which is translated Christ. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas,” which is translated Peter. (Jn 1:35-42)
John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God and testified that “he is the Son of God.” John’s Gospel does not describe in detail John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. Instead, it describes the Baptist telling two of his own disciples, Andrew, brother of Peter, and John, son of Zebedee to follow Jesus. Andrew, calls his brother Simon to come and meet the Messiah. In turn, Jesus calls Nathaniel, from Cana in Galilee and Philip to follow him.
All is ready for Jesus’ mission to begin in Cana in Galilee. He will continue to announce the coming of God’s kingdom, but it will not be immediate as John announces it. All nations must receive Jesus’ message of mercy and love All nations must receive the invitation to become children of God through God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
The waters of the Jordan must reach the ends of the earth. The responsorial psalm for today asks the natural world to join to proclaiming the gospel.
Let the sea and what fills it resound, the world and those who dwell in it; Let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains shout with them for joy before the LORD.
All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
That happens, as our gospel indicates, through Peter, Andrew, Nathaniel and the rest, including us.
We’re reading the First Letter of John at the end of the Christmas season.The letter challenges some early Christians who thought it was completely beneath God’s nature to assume our lowly humanity and so they claimed Jesus was not truly divine; the Word did not become flesh. Mary could not possibly be “Mother of God.” Maybe God could come in a perfect world, but not the world of “now.”
John’s letter insists on the mystery of the Incarnation. That mystery happens, not just when Mary accepts the angel’s invitation, not just at the birth of Christ and the events that took place around it. That mystery happens now..
“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
“We are God’s children now,” in our time and place. We live the mystery of the Incarnation, like the mystery of his death and resurrection, now in our time and place. Its a challenging mystery for the time and place that’s ours now, that can seem so unworthy of God’s presence.
The saints help us appreciatete the mystery of the Incarnation because they lived that mystery in their time and place. This week in the Christmas season we celebrate a number of saints. St.Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, 4th century Christian bishops. St. Elizabeth Seton and St. John Neumann, from the early years in our American church. On January 5, the Passionists remember St. Charles Houben, CP.
St. Basil the Great was a learned teacher, a brilliant philosopher and theologian who knew the philosophers and sciences of his day. He also was a man of action. He founded religious communities, hospitals, homes for the poor. He was an outstanding bishop of church in Asia Minor, known throughout the Christian world.
But the church then was tightly controlled by an emperor who believed and demanded others believe what the Letter of John condemned– that Jesus was a godly man, but not God. Basil, a strong believer in the divinity of Christ, was not afraid to confront those who said otherwise, even the powerful political establishment .
His letters reveal how he struggled with the now of his times and place. He was falsely accused, undermined, threatened with exile. He bemoaned the division of Christians caused by too many controversies. He was hurt by suspicions of his own orthodoxy. He felt alone and outnumbered.
Each of the saints we celebrate this week did what he did. They lived the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus, inseparable from the mystery of his death and resurrection, in their own time and place. They proclaimed the gospel they received – the Word became flesh.
Pope Francis opened the Holy Year of 2025 in Rome December 25th. A Holy Year occurs ordinarily every 25 year since the year 1300. A painting in the Lateran Basilica in Rome shows Pope Boniface VIII opening the Holy Year of 1300.
Announcing the Holy Year Pope Francis said the year is not an automatic calendar celebration; a Holy Year meets a need. The theme for this Holy Year is taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. “ Hope Does Not Disappoint” (Romans 5:5) Our need today is hope.
We’re living in disappointing times, the pope writes. We see that, don’t we? Many parts of our world are engulfed in wars and political struggles. The Ukraine, Gaza, the Sudan in Africa, Haiti, now Lebanon and Syria in the Middle East. Millions of people are trying to escape conditions of poverty, looking for a safe place for themselves and their families. We’re experiencing floods, fire, unusual weather. Our cities, our schools, our churches, all our institutions seem weaker rather than stronger.
We need hope, Pope Francis says, “ the hope that springs from the pierced heart of Jesus on the Cross.” We hope in “our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing in the glory of God… Hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom 5:1-2.5).
Historians say the Holy Year did not originate 700 years ago as an idea of the popes; it began with ordinary people of the time. Maybe the great uncertainty then — the Black Plague struck that century — prompted Christians to journey to Rome looking for the roots of their faith in the churches and shrines of the city. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, they believed Peter and Paul, Mary the Mother of Jesus, the early martyrs were there in the churches and catacombs to teach and strengthen them. They went to Rome, not primarily to see the pope, but to strengthen their faith.
One of the graces we should pray for and expect in the Holy Year is the grace of a pilgrim spirit, a pilgrim mind, leading us to revisit our spiritual roots. A pilgrim spirit doesn’t come easily in disappointing times like ours when the best advice seems to be to stay where you are and don’t go anywhere.
The Holy Year is a time for revisiting our spiritual roots. A pilgrimage to Rome is not the only journey the pope recommends. Go back to your roots in the scriptures, he says. Leave the technological world of television and the internet and listen to the story of creation. Go back to the stories of your saints and visit your churches and shrines. They have graces to give us.
We may not make a pilgrimage to Rome this Holy Year, but pilgrimage takes many forms, a Pope Francis points out. As Christians we’re pilgrims, and pilgrimage is intimately connected to “our human quest for meaning in life”.
We hope to reflect on the Holy Year 2025 in this blog throughout the year. Keep following us.
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man. Luke 2:41-52
Ever wonder where the story in today’s gospel from Luke comes from, the finding of the boy Jesus in the temple? Luke may tell us when he writes: “Mary kept all these things in her heart.”
Mary and Joseph are our key witnesses to the early life of Jesus. Wouldn’t people after the resurrection of Jesus ask Mary, “How was he born, what was he like growing up?” They must have asked her questions.
Mary must have been the one who told them of God’s invitation to bear his Son. From Mary we learn of his birth in Bethlehem; the shepherds, the strangers from the east, Herod’s attempt to kill her child, the old people in the temple who recognize him, their flight into Egypt.
She would tells us “He grew up like other children. We brought him up. We were mother and father to him. We held him in our arms, we fed him, we clothed him, we taught him his first words, we helped him take his first steps, we brought him to the synagogue, we instructed him in our tradition, we taught him to pray, we listened to his questions. Angels didn’t bring him up. We did. “ The story of their journey to Jerusalem when he was twelve to celebrate Passover must come from Mary. The words we hear in that story are surely hers: “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you.”
We call that period in Jesus’ life his “Hidden Life.” Did God choose those hidden years as a sign of God’s hidden presence in our lives and the life of our world? A hidden presence is God’s usual presence with us.
Today’s Feast of the Holy Family is a celebration of the hidden presence of God in our families. “The child grew in wisdom and age and grace before God and man. “ Just as God gave Mary and Joseph an important role in raising Jesus, families are called to make their homes a place for growing in wisdom and grace.
Like Mary and Joseph parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, cousins and friends do this in thousands of seemingly automatic, simple ways. Family life is a life of undramatic love, that waits for the future to be revealed. As St. John says: “We are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
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